Leaf and refuse catcher

ABSTRACT

A collapsible basket-like catcher or carrier having bottom and side panels of mesh wire screen, the side panels being pivotally connected to the bottom panel, a pair of handles on said bottom panel, and locking means on said handles and side panels, whereby the side panels may be locked to each other in an upstanding position for collecting and carrying leaves and refuse or may be collapsed upon said bottom panel for storage.

United States Patent 9 1 Gray I 51 Mar. 27, 1973 [541 LEAF AND REFUSE CATCHER [76] Inventor: Jack K. Gray, Rt. 1, Box 138,

Niceville, Fla. 32578 [22] Filed: Mar. 12,1971

21 Appl. No.: 123,602

[52] U.S. Cl...; ..lS/257.1, 56/1, 294/67 D,

110/19 [51] Int. Cl. ..A0ld 11/00 [58] Field of Search ..l5/257.1, 257.7; 294/265, 294/67 D, 67 DA, 67 DC; 56/1; 43/105; 110/19; 220/6, 7

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,743,686 5/1956 Samuelson ..110/19 1,315,067 9/1919 Woodworth ..220/7 2,530,148 11/1950 Bjorklund et al. 2,542,920 2/ 1951 Gardner Pope .110/19 X Primary Examiner-Leon G. Machlin Attorney-Paul M. Pahules [57] ABSTRACT A collapsible basket-like catcher of carrier having bottom and side panels of mesh wire screen, the side panels being pivotally connected to the bottom panel,

a pair of handles on said bottom panel, and locking means on said handles and side panels, whereby the side panels may be locked to each other in an upstanding position for collecting and carrying leaves and refuse or may be collapsed upon said bottom panel for storage.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEUHARZYIQYS INVENTOR.

JACK K. GRAY ATTORNEY LEAF AND REFUSE CATCHER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention is in the field of carriers for gathering and removing leaves and refuse.

2. Description of Prior Art Many home owners have devised and used various kinds of carrying devices to assist in gathering and removing leaves and refuse from their yards, however, such devices have not been satisfactory for various reasons including instability, size, weight, difficulty in handling and storing, and lack of durability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A leaf and refuse basket-like catcher or carrier has now been devised which can be easily handled so that the physical effort in removing refuse is greatly reduced, is light in weight, inexpensive to fabricate, is of large capacity and permits dirt and sand from the leaves and refuse to be sifted thereby reducing the weight of the load and resulting in a cleaner material. The leaf and refuse carrier, when not in use, can be collapsed and stored with minimum utilization of space, but, when assembled for use, is locked in such a manner as to form a rigid structure without the necessity of bracing which would increase the weight and the overall cost of production. When the carrier is placed beside a pile of leaves or refuse, material in a large quantity may be raked into the carrier which can be lifted without stooping and carried to a disposal area for emptying into a vehicle, or fed directly'into a grinding machine. This carrier device is particularly adapted to environmental control since it encourages the removal and use of waste materials by reducing the back breaking efforts previously encountered in this operation and which too frequently resulted in burning these materials and contributing to pollution of the air. The use of the foregoing device will become obvious from the reading of the following description of the preferred embodiment and from the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the leaf and refuse carrier; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the leaf and refuse carrier of FIG. 1 in a collapsed'or folded position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing in detail, the embodiment of the invention here illustrated is designated in general by numeral and comprises a quadrilateral bottom mesh panel 12 of a substantially square shape, a quadrilateral real side mesh panel 14 and quadrilateral side mesh panels 16 and 18, respectively, also of a rectangular shape.

Each of the panels is preferably made of a mesh or wire screen 20, the edges of which are-reinforced by wire bonded in a plastic material to form a peripheral frame 22 at the edges thereof.

The bottom panel 12 is further provided with a pair of open-end cut outs or slots 24 formed at'the edges of the sides of the frame 22 which are abutted by the rear and side panels 14, 16 and 18 respectively. The slots 24 expose the reinforcing wire, as indicated at 26, which acts as a bolt for the hinge means to be described later The rear and side panels 14, 16 and 18, are, also, each formed at the lower side edge of the frame 22 with a pair of similar slots 28 through which extends longitudinally thereof the reinforcing wire, as indicated at 30. The slots 24 in the bottom panel 12 and the slots 28 in the rear and side panels 14, 16 and 18, are positioned opposite each other so that the wire parts or bolts 26 and 30 in their respective slots 24 and 28 are abutting each other. A sleeve 32 pivotedly engaging the abutting bolts 26 and 30 in each abutting pair of slots 24 and 28, acts as a hinge for the rear and side panels 14, 16, and 18, respectively, which are thus pivotally mounted on the bottom panel 12.

The carrier 10 is carried by a pair of handles, a front handle 34 and a rear handle 36, each of a substantially inverted U shape. The front handle 34 is provided with eyelettes 38 at its free ends, through which eyelettes passes a part of the reinforcing wire, as indicated at 40,

. and extends along the front edge of the frame 22 of the bottom panel 12. The front handle 34 is formed with a pair of straight leg portions 42 and inclined portions 44 connected by a straight horizontal center portion 46.

The front handle 34 is thus pivotally mounted on the bottom panel 12 and the straight leg portions 44 are adapted to abut the front frame edges of the side panels 16 and 18, when they are in the assembled or upstanding position.

Similarly, the rear handle 36 has straight leg portions 48 rigidly mounted on said rear side panel 14, spaced apart, and extending in the same plane'of the rear side panel 14, inclined portions 50 and a horizontal center portion 52 connecting said inclined portions 50. The rear handle 36 is thus pivotally mounted on the bottom panel 12 and is adapted to move with the rear side panel 14. The straight leg portions 48' are positioned adjacent to the rear frame edges of the side panels 16 and 18, as shown in FIG. 1.

The side panels 16 and 18 are each further provided with a pair of stubs 54, each protruding outwardly and upwardly from the end corners of the horizontal edge of the frame 22 of each of the side panels 16 and 18. The stubs 54 are thus positioned at the upper comers of each of the side panels 16 and 18, and adjacent to the respective straight leg portions 42 and 48 of the front handle 34 and rear handle 36.

The handles 34 and 36 are further provided with a locking or splicing sleeve 56, each slidably mounted on each of the straight leg portions 42 and 48 of the handles 34 and 36 respectively. The sleeves 56 are each adapted to removably and slidably engage the adjacent of the stubs 56 for rigidly locking the side panels 16 and 18, and the handles 34 and 36 together in the assembled or upstanding position. The handles 34 and 36, the protruding stubs 54, and locking sleeves 56, thus form locking means for the side panels 16 and 18 when assembled in their upstanding position.

The handles 34 and 36, are also provided with handle sleeves 58 fitted over the center portions 46 and 52. The sleeves 58 are each formed with a groove 60 located about the center thereof and are made preferably of plastic material and of such thickness as to provide a better grasp for carrying the carrier device 10.

When the refuse catcher and carrier is used for carrying refuse for any appreciable distance, an auxiliary handle bar 62 may be employed for facilitating the handling of the device by holding and carrying it from about the center thereof. The handle bar 62 is provided with hooks 64 at its ends adapted to fit over the handle sleeves 58 to extend into the grooves 60 for firmly but removably engaging the handles 34 and 36.

For storage, the refuse cari'ier device is unlocked at the four corners by sliding-the locking sleeves 56 upwardly on the straight leg portions 42 and 48, thereby releasing the protruding stubs from their locked portion with the handles 34 and 36. The rear panel 14, may then be folded under the bottom panel 12, and the side panels 16 and 18 may be folded over the bottom panel 12 as shown in FIG. 2. The front handle 34 may be placed over the side panels 16 and 18.

When the leaf and refuse carrier or basket 10 is placed beside a pile of leaves or refuse, material in a large quantity may be raked into the carrier and carried to a disposal area, emptied into a vehicle, or fed from the carrier into a grinding machine. Any dirt or sand mixed into the material automatically passes through the mesh panels and thereby reduces the weight of the removed material. This carrier may be effectively used against pollution for the reasons as set forth above.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in the foregoing specification. However, it should be understood that the invention which is intended to be protected herein is not limited by that which is shown in the drawing and described in the specification, but only as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is 1. A refuse carrier, comprising a quadrilateral bottom panel and side panels each pivotally hinged at an edge thereof to said bottom panel for folding from an upstanding position to a folded position on said bottom .panel, handles pivotedly connected to said bottom panel at' opposite edges thereon and spaced from each other, locking means on said handles and on said side panels for locking said side panels in the upstanding position for collecting and carrying refuse therein, said bottom and side panels each having a frame and a mesh screen fastened to said frame for dirt and sand to pass therethrough, said bottom and side panels having openended slots formed at the edges of said frames, a bolt extending lengthwise through each of the open-ended folded position on said bottom panel, handles pivotedly connected to said bottom panel at opposite edges thereon and spaced from each other, locking means on said handles and on said side panels for locking said side panels in the upstanding position for collecting and carrying refuse therein, said locking means including stubs protruding from said side panels in parallel abutting relation to said handles in the upstanding position thereof, and locking sleeves slidably mounted on said handles and slidably engaging said protruding stubs for locking said side and rear panels and said handles in the upstanding position.

3. A refuse carrier, comprising a quadrilateral bottom mesh screen panel and mesh screen side panels each pivotally hinged at an edge thereof to said bottom panel for folding from an upstanding position to a folded position on said bottom panel, handles pivotedly connected to said bottom panel at opposite edges thereon and spaced from each other, locking means on said handles and on said side panels for locking said side panels in the upstanding position for collecting and carrying refuse therein, and a center handle removably engaging said pair of handles and extending lengthwise of said bottom panel and above said side and rear panels for carrying said refuse carrier.

4. A refuse carrier, comprising a mesh quadrilateral bottom panel, a pair of mesh quadrilateral side panels and a mesh quadrilateral rear panel, said side and rear panels pivotedly hinged to said bottom panel at the edges thereof for folding from an upstanding position to a folded position on said bottom panel, said side panels each having a pair of protruding stubs at the opposite edge from the edge hinged to said bottom panel, a pair of handles pivotally connected to said bottom panel and having straight portions adapted to abut said stubs, means on said handles for engaging said protruding stubs and locking said handles and said side and rear panels in the upstanding position, and a center handle removably engaging said pair of handles, whereby the carrier may be carried from said center handle for collecting and carrying refuse. 

1. A refuse carrier, comprising a quadrilateral bottom panel and side panels each pivotally hinged at an edge thereof to said bottom panel for folding from an upstanding position to a folded position on said bottom panel, handles pivotedly connected to said bottom panel at opposite edges thereon and spaced from each other, locking means on said handles and on said side panels for locking said side panels in the upstanding position for collecting and carrying refuse therein, said bottom and side panels each having a frame and a mesh screen fastened to said frame for dirt and sand to pass therethrough, said bottom and side panels having open-ended slots formed at the edges of said frames, a bolt extending lengthwise through each of the openended slots at the edges of said frames, and hinge sleeves each pivotally engaging a pair of said bolts in opposed slots of said bottom and side panels, whereby said rear and side panels may fold on said bottom panel for storage.
 2. A refuse carrier, comprising a quadrilateral bottom mesh screen panel and side mesh screen panels each pivotally hinged at an edge thereof to said bottom panel for folding from an upstanding position to a folded position on said bottom panel, handles pivotedly connected to said bottom panel at opposite edges thereon and spaced from each other, locking means on said handles and on said side panels for locking said side panels in the upstanding position for collecting and carrying refuse therein, said locking means including stubs protruding from said side panels in parallel abutting relation to said handles in the upstanding position thereof, and locking sleeves slidably mounted on said handles and slidably engaging said protruding stubs for locking said side and rear panels and said handles in the upstanding position.
 3. A refuse carrier, comprising a quadrilateral bottom mesh screen panel and mesh screen side panels each pivotally hinged at an edge thereof to said bottom panel for folding from an upstanding position to a folded position on said bottom panel, handles pivotedly connected to said bottom panel at opposite edges thereon and spaced from each other, locking means on said handles and on said side panels for locking said side panels in the upstanding position for collecting and carrying refuse therein, and a center handle removably engaging said pair of handles and extending lengthwise of said bottom panel and above said side and rear panels for carrying said refuse carrier.
 4. A refuse carrier, comprising a mesh quadrilateral bottom panel, a pair of mesh quadrilateral side panels and a mesh quadrilateral rear panel, said side and rear panels pivotedly hinged to said bottom panel at the edges thereof for folding from an upstanding position to a folded position on said bottom panel, said side panels each having a pair of protruding stubs at the opposite edge from the edge hinged to said bottom panel, a pair of handles pivotally connected to said bottom panel and having straight portions adapted to abut said stubs, means on said handles for engaging said protruding stubs and locking said handles and said side and rear panels in the upstanding position, and a center handle removably engaging said pair of handles, whereby the carrier may be carried from said center handle for collecting and carrying refuse. 